‘Under The Dome’ Brings In 13.1 Million Viewers
Under the Dome proved to be a popular choice with viewers on Monday night.
CBS rolled out the first episode of the series based on Stephen King’s 2009 novel. Strong buzz, not to mention King’s name, lured in a considerable number of folks who were curious to see what all the fuss was about.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Under the Dome drew in a whopping 13.1 million viewers and gave the network a rating of 3.2 rating with adults between the ages of 18 and 49. In short, the suits at CBS seem to have a hit on their hands.
The first episode of the series marked the biggest summer debut on the network since Big Brother in 2000. Under the Dome also ties with The Following as the second-highest-rated drama premiere this season.
The Wrap reports CBS took a huge chance by debuting the Stephen King adaptation during the summer months. Since the project is considered to be a pretty big deal, the network was hoping to lure in viewers looking for something other than sitcoms or reality programs.
Should Under the Dome continue to perform well for the network, there’s a strong possibility it could continue well into the future. Stephen King recently told USA Today that CBS was interested in expanding the story beyond the book.
“They took the book as a launching pad and they’re going to do whatever they do with it. It’s like ‘Game of Thrones,’ (which) starts off like the books and then goes off in some directions that are different. I’m for anything that works,” the author explained.
Although the characters are only trapped under the dome for two weeks in the book, the series intends to extend their stay for as long as viewers are willing to tune in. King said he originally wanted to explore what happened if these characters were trapped for a lengthy period of time.
“You would see the whole thing about depletion of resources, gas (and) food running out, people using wood fires because there’s no electricity. And you can see the grit building up on the dome the way it does in the atmosphere of the earth,” King said.
Did you catch the Under the Dome premiere last night? What did you think about CBS’ adaptation of the Stephen King novel?
